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LONG BLOG

Hey, Mike/PhilKenSebben here with a quick intro. This our first in an ongoing series of blogs written by Low(er) Tier member: Lola/ThatDocktorGirl. We hope you enjoy and if not.... well, you know what I have to say. Read on after the article to find out how you can win one of two Steam copies of Dishonored (Lola's fav from 2012, HAHA) or one of 15 beta keys for The Showdown Effect (also Steam).

Hey everybody! So this is article one from yours truly, ThatDocktorGirl.

In regards to the title; I’ve started playing Silent Hill, and in doing so I’ve completely destroyed any connection or engaged reaction that I could have had for the other games in the series. This is down to me starting off with Silent Hill Downpour. And all the Silent Hill fans right now are like “you idiot!! You should have started with 2 at least!!” I’m like that with myself right now anyway!

I’d never really had a thought about Silent Hill up until recently, and talking to someone who’s the hugest fan of Silent Hill 2 you could ever possibly come across. And I’d read previews of Downpour and it seemed cool. But I’m from the Isle of Man. And getting Downpour was a long wait and I only saw it by chance; it was in with a load of pre-owned stuff, and I just grabbed and got it, because I’d probably never see a copy of it in that store ever again.

So I got Downpour, and I have no prior experience or knowledge of Silent Hill, what it’s like, how scary it is - nothing at all. I’d heard of it, and the movies… For some reason I blanked it completely. Not out of anything though, just glossed over it. This is how bad I didn’t know - I thought Pyramid Head was dark green… Until I googled him… I don’t know why about that either… At all… SH fans - I am sorry.

I seriously regret playing Downpour first, or to be honest, even getting it. I should have just got the originals to play on my PS2, for the following reasons;

First of all, littered across forums and blogs is stuff about this “Silent Hill Formula” - basically the way the game plays out, and is designed or something all follows a pattern - you know, begins with a dream, then the real story starts, and how they get to the town and all that (I will be honest, I drifted off reading about it… But at least I did some homework). So starting playing Downpour I was a bit confused until that clicked in that the first part‘s a dream. Also, where I am right now - just reached the town. Why am I releasing little blue birds??? Is that part of it to? Is that a thing?

Secondly, the enemies. Holy fucking shit. I did not know what I was in for at all. Those screamer chicks remind me of the ghosty fuckers in Deadly Premonition that do a skittery limbo towards you. And they fucking creep me right the fuck out. Also, got told about the dolls… I am not looking forward to them, not one bit. Especially the first time you see one; if you follow me on Twitter, keep an eye out for when I reach that point in the game! I might implode with swears and tears. (I have a tendency to pause and tweet, just so I have a reason to pause the terror I’m facing.)

And it’s not just being scared of them - the first real enemy, in the Diner Otherworld, that red vortex thing… Let me talk you through my initial reaction;
“ hmm I’ve just been dragged into some weird realm. Realms have vortexs which you travel through… Oh look, a vortex!! Lets run straight into it, it might take me back to the proper world… *dies*… maybe I should run from it… Like Murphy yelled out to… Not into it… I’m not cut out for this…”

Third of all, which is why I regret not starting with 2; I have no emotional connection to Murphy at all, except for the fact that his first name is the same first name as my favourite McManus brother in Boondock Saints. That is as much as I care about him. And I don’t like that - I love getting a connection, having my heart go out to a character, getting a little bit over-attached (my heart broke over Alistair in Dragon Age Origins… Devastated. I’m still bitter. If you played as a Female Noble who accepts flowers - you will know and understand.)

Now this is where I ruined the whole series for myself. I fucking googled them to see what I’d missed; I’d stupidly assumed they were all connected - and I was very wrong, and in doing so annihilated any surprises. Read the plots on Wiki didn‘t I… now know too much to be able to enjoy them if I got them. And that’s how you ruin a whole fucking franchise for yourself boys and girls!!!

I really would have loved SH 2. And I’ve blown that up completely. I know the whole story, the endings, what colour Pyramid Head actually is… Too much to be able to play it and feel the way I would have probably done given that I started with that and not fucking googled. I’m too curious for my own good when I want to be.

Also, reading online - a LOT of people do not even consider Downpour as a proper Silent Hill game, as it’s not the same people, it’s not Team Silent, who created the originals. WHY WASN’T THAT THE FIRST THING I READ?!?!?!?! It would have saved me so much self loathing over all this. *sigh*

So yeah, me and franchises don’t really get along it seems… And now Dead Space 3 is out, I am not jumping into it and putting myself back on the previous games. This bitch is gonna play them in the order that EA intended… Learning from my mistakes in action! x

Silly, silly lady. While I thought Downpour was pretty good myself, definitely NOT the place to start. Alright, now, you little bastards want to know how to win stuff, right? RIGHT? Well, for Dishonored, I want you to leave a comment, telling us the most dishonorable thing you've done in your life (this should be fun). For The Showdown Effect, name your favorite 80s or early 90s action movie. As always we will pick our favorites and notify the winners via pm. you have until Friday. -Phil

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About LowerTierPodcastone of us since 2:18 PM on 10.13.2012

Hi!

We are The Low(er) Tier team. Would you like to see our baseball? It's nice. We are comprised of:
Jaimie/MrCharleeB, Jesse/SayWord, Latrell /Used_ta_be and Mike/PhilKenSebben for the podcast and all of us contributing for the articles/blogs. Our goal is to make you laugh, through offensive comedy and the degradation of stupid people.

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